Five on Friday

As I mentioned before, J and I aren't big on V-day celebrations, so I'll be rocking my Valentine's Leslie Knope style. That's right, tonight is Galentine's Day! I'll be spending the evening with one of my best gal friends (who I don't see nearly often enough). I'm sooo looking forward to our evening of Margaritas, shopping, and general shenanigans.

Now, onto today's Valentine's-inspired Five on Friday...

1. Speaking of Galentine's Day, I wish I'd have seen this post earlier - I would have loved to put together cute boxes for my best gal friends! Why didn't I think of this?!

2. When it comes to V-day cards, I'm a big fan of ones that will make my recipient giggle. This one is a current favorite (although these are a close second).

3. There are always a ton of free printable Valentines offered this time of year. So far these are definitely at the top of my list.

4. Despite the fact that I'm not particularly fond of Valentine's Day, I can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy when I see these adorable felt envelopes! I want to make them just to make them.

5. And finally, I am swooning over this hot pink mini album, obviously appropriate for documenting life beyond February 14th.

Be sure to check back later for another Valentine's Day inspired What I'm Drinking post - this one is seriously so yummy, you don't want to miss it!

Happy Valentine's Day, lovelies! Hope you have plans to do something that will make your heart happy!

Project Life 2014 Week 1

It's time for a little honesty. I think I may have lost my Project Life mojo. It took me forever to finish this week's spread - and it's the only one I've completed for 2014 so far. I'm not really sure what's going on....oh, wait...yes, I do.

I started moving into a new craft room (formerly the guest room) at the end of last year. I got everything cleared out and started painting. Then the snowpocalypse hit. And the weather has stayed astonishingly terrible ever since. Because it's a room we don't normally use, and because we have a big, old, drafty house, that room hasn't been heated well. So there it sits, half painted, waiting for above freezing temperatures to return so that it can be turned into the craft room of my dreams...or some close proximity.

In the mean time, my scrapbooking supplies are scattered between J's office and several closets. Schlepping supplies from one room to another and constant fruitless searching are not exactly conducive to creativity. So I feel mojo-less for the moment. But there is hope on the horizon, in the form of 40-degree weather in the ten day forecast. I'm keeping my fingers (and some of my toes) crossed.

Now, moving on to what I actually have accomplished...

Week 1 was the week of said snowpocalypse, the week that started the two months of frozen hell that  has been our winter thus far (what, I'm not bitter). Other things that happened this week:

• We discovered our upstairs toilet had a leaky flange, and the water had rotted the subfloor beneath our tile. Gross.
• J binge watched Breaking Bad, and even got me to watch several episodes (though there was a lot of question-asking on my part, since I missed seasons 1 through 3). 
• Our good friend Byron celebrated a birthday and chose to do so in our company. He's an amazing musician, and we always look forward to his visits - even our dogs love him! 

Despite the intolerable cold, I enjoyed watching our backyard turn into a winter wonderland. The snow covered trees are beautiful. My pictures don't do them justice. 

 Products used:

• Printshop 6x6 pad from Studio Calico
• Albums Made Easy, Simply Happy 4x6 and 3x4 pads from We R Memory Keepers
• Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party RSVP Thickers
• American Crafts Rockabye Thickers in white
• Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic Accent and Phrase Stickers
• Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm Neutral and Multi Trinket Thicker phrases 
• Pebbles Basics Washi Tape in Begonia and Ash
• Stirred Elements paper from Atomic Soup by Jillibean Soup
• Hugs paper from Love You More by Elle's Studio
• Basic Grey Hello label stickers
• Basic Grey Hey Girl! die-cut shapes
• Basic Grey micro-mono stickers
• Amy Tangerine Yes, Please roller stamp
• Amy Tangerine Ready, Set, Go roller stamp
• Studio Calico Classic Calico roller stamp
• Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
• American Crafts Precision Pen

What I'm Drinking

Can you believe that Valentine's Day is just one week away?! It feels like this year is flying by already.

To be honest, we're not big on the ol' V-day around here. I don't decorate the house, and we usually try to avoid the mad crowds at restaurants and theaters. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying my share of chocolate this time of year. No sir-ee!

And one of my favorite ways to consume this food of the gods is with some kind of alcohol. It could be high octane dark chocolate and red wine, or in my pre-gluten-free days (PGFDs), a good chocolate stout. Either one will suffice, but my favorite way to drink this sugary sweet is in a nice chocolate martini.

There are plenty of chocolate martini recipes out there, but this is definitely my favorite, adapted by me through trial and error.
 

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 oz vanilla vodka
1 1/2 oz Godiva Chocolate liqueur
3 oz vanilla soy milk
chocolate syrup
cocoa powder

Fill a martini shaker half way with ice. Add the vodka, chocolate liqueur, and soy milk, and shake.

Next, drizzle a martini glass with the chocolate syrup (I like to use Torani Dark Chocolate Sauce). Then add the alcohol mixture poured through the strainer. Use a sieve to sprinkle a fine dusting of cocoa powder over the top.

Sip & enjoy!

Of course, you can use whatever milk, cream, or half-and-half you have on hand. I prefer the vanilla soy milk because 1) it adds an extra layer of vanilla, 2) it froths a bit more when shaken, giving the drink a creamy texture, and 3) we always have it in the fridge.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back next week with more Project Life posts. See you then!

Five on Friday

Somehow I managed to go an entire week without posting on this blog. What?! How did that happen?

So for today's Five on Friday, I'm sharing 5 things that I didn't blog about this week (in no particular order).

1. I got sick. My age-old nemesis Mr. Sinus Infection struck again and knocked me out for nearly half the week. So I spent most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday curled up in bed watching Netflix (mostly this and this).

2. Since I was sick, J was in charge of food prep...and he did a pretty damn good job! He even made us these delicious enchiladas verdes Wednesday night (with only a little help from me).

3. One of the things I'm trying to be better about this year is taking care of myself, because I am a better girlfriend, a better friend, and a better person when I am happy and confident with myself, inside and out. So no more begrudging myself something because I feel like I don't deserve it. I do, damnit! :) So on Thursday I actually went to the touch-up hair appointment I made back in December. This is the first time I have maintained a style, with the same stylist at the same salon...ever. I usually talk myself out of it and put off going for 6 months to a year (yeah, not pretty). But not anymore! And let me tell ya, it feels so good!

4. TJ Maxx is quickly becoming my new fave store. This week I found J this Fossil watch for just $69 - originally $185! Oh, how I love a good deal!

5. I'm super bummed that I'll be missing two awesome shows in Indianapolis tonight (I'm not feeling up to a night on the town just yet). Our good friend Chris Weller will be playing the Vogue tonight with Brandon Whyde. They are seriously awesome, and if you're local and you haven't seen them yet, you need to go. And Dark Star Orchestra is at the Murat. Damn this stupid infection!

That was my week. Be sure to check back in a little bit. I've got a Valentine's-inspired What I'm Drinking post lined up that you don't want to miss!

What I'm Drinking

More cold weather means more wine for this wimp. I clearly was not the one who purchased this bottle (it's all fancy with a gold wire and shit), but I will happily drink it. And it's quite good, too.

Cheers, everyone!

Five on Friday

1. I'm kinda in love with this shirt.

2. Along with the rest of the scrapbooking world, I was sad to hear that Archiver's is going out of business. But I was also kind of excited to shop their going-out-of-business sale. I finally went today, Now that everything is 50% off (cuz if I'm gonna get a deal, then I'm gonna get a deal, ya know what I'm sayin'?). It was pretty well picked over, but I did manage to spend a whole $14 on some Project Life goodies and a few papers.

3. To pacify myself after spending so little, I promptly came home and ordered these two Carta Bella collections on sale at Blitsy.

4. I also really want this.

And finally...

5. This may be the best engagement photo ever.

Have a lovely weekend, all!

Project Life 2013 Week 23

I realized after my last post that if I'm going to continue to share PL spreads form 2013 and 2014, then I'm going to have to post more than one spread per week or I'll never have time to share them all...duh. So that's what I'm going to do. Maybe two on Tuesdays, maybe more throughout the week...whatever strikes my fancy.

Today's spread is from week 23.

It was the week that the then-new Becky Higgins products finally showed up at my local Hobby Lobby, so it only made sense to use the Kraft edition for this week. This may be the one and only time I have ever used a core kit for an entire spread, without adding papers from other collections.

The "Hello" stamp is one of these $1.00 Studio G stamps from Michaels. It actually said "Hello friend" but I cut the "friend" off. I like it so much better this way. The "Oh Snap" and camera stamps are from this KI Memories set.

The picture of our roses didn't quite fit on the card I wanted to use without covering up the arrow, so I used my exacto knife and cut around the point so the arrow would overlap the picture. The "bloom" stamped there was done using an old American Crafts alpha stamp set and the "date" stamp at the top is from Evalicious. The dog and "woof" stamp on the bottom right is from the Studio Calico Here & There collection. 

Other than my roller date stamp, the only additional embellishments I used were a few washi tapes (including this one and this one). It's a pretty simple layout compared to my usual style, and I have to say that I kinda like it.

Oh, and one other thing.... In the interest of being honest, I have to admit that this spread isn't actually 100% done. This was the week J went to California for business & extended his trip to do a little sightseeing. I have a whole folder full of ephemera he brought back and photos that he took that need to make their way into this spread somehow. I'm thinking of doing a kind of mini book within the spread...still working out the details though.

Project Life 2013 Week 15

That's right. For this week's Project Life Tuesday post, I'm reaching aaaallll the way back to Week 15 of last year. I've been going through my PL checklist, finishing up some of the weeks I skipped, and I realized that many of my finished spreads never made it to the old blog. So I've decided to gradually show them here. I'm thinking of doing some kind of gallery as well...not sure yet. Thoughts?

Anywho...Week 15 was smack in the middle of our community theater's production of Little Shop of Horrors. Most of my week revolved around rehearsal and showtimes. It was also the week I started dance classes with my friend, Katie. And the week we (finally) filed our taxes.

There was some friend drama during the first part of this week that I wanted to record, but didn't necessarily want it out in the open for everyone to read. So I made the "friends" card on the first page, then added some hidden journaling on a separate card behind it. I used my Jenni Bowlin tab punch to make a pull tab for the hidden card, then stamped the phrase "what a day" with my Amy Tangerine Yes, Please roller stamp.

The papers are all from the PB&J collection by Basic Grey. The labels are a mix of Elle's Studio Lil' Snippets, Martha Stewart file folder labels, and basic white labels from my local big box store.

One Little Word 2014

During the first couple weeks of January, I did a lot of thinking about what I want from 2014. Things I want to accomplish, goals I plan to achieve, places I want to go. But most of all I thought about the person I want to be. While I was pondering these thoughts, there was a single word that kept popping into my head. This is usually how it goes. My word comes organically, without effort.

But this year I fought it. I thought it was too small. I thought it was too simple, too mundane. I couldn't possibly use this insignificant word to motivate me for a whole year.

But my word persisted, insisted that I hear it.

Finally I listened.

I am often always my own worst critic. I'm never good enough, nothing I do is ever perfect enough to meet my own standards. Because of this, I hide. I don't want others to see how much I fall short. The actress in me takes over, and I become who I think people want me to be in the moment. Few people ever get to see the real me.

To be honest, it's exhausting...and I only end up judging myself all the more for not having the courage to just be myself.

So my one little word for 2014 is "real." It is my hope that this small word will motivate me and remind me to...

be real, my real self, however silly or imperfect

to get real when it comes to my own expectations for myself

and to focus on what is real and not the lies I tell myself.

The very day I accepted "real" as my OLW, this quote showed up in my Pinterest feed. It could not have been more a more perfect reminder that so much of my focus is stolen by things that are not real. The fears that too often dominate my thoughts are not real. The standards of perfection that I set for myself are not real. And if I can just let go of them, I can set myself free.

Earlier today I sat down with my inks, watercolors, brushes, and pens, and I had some fun just writing my OLW over and over. I have been so inspired by all of the handwriting examples floating around the internet lately (mostly in preparation for this class). I'll be hanging a couple of these in my studio to remind me and to inspire me to be real.

What I'm Drinking

**I'm starting a new tradition here at 52 Reasons. Every Friday at 5:00 I'll be sharing a new or favorite drink that I'm enjoying. I hope you enjoy! :)

It's cold here in Central Indiana. Like, so-cold-it-burns-and-what-the-hell-is-up-with-these-nose-icicles cold. It basically sucks, and makes me want to bury myself under my down comforter and not come out until spring. But life must go on.

Thankfully there's wine.

Cold weather always makes me switch from iced cocktails and beer to red wine. It has a definite warming effect...and right now, I'll take all the warm I can get. And it's almost always gluten-free, which is a definite plus for me.

So being the wise and crafty person that I am, instead of braving the cold myself, I oh-so-sweetly asked my dear boyfriend to stop and pick up a bottle for me on his way home from work. He asked what brand I wanted, and I responded, with confirmed faith in his wine-picking abilities, that he would know what I liked. With the help of a knowledgable clerk, he brought home this:

Lately, I've been digging the California reds. This one was described by the clerk as "like Apothic Red, but better," a description that actually made me a little nervous, as Apothic is a little on the sweet side for my taste. Luckily this wine, was indeed better than Apothic.

Now here's where I have to add a disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on wines. I sometimes know what I like. Other times, I choose wine by how pretty the label is. My palette is not refined, and I would likely have a hard time distinguishing between a cheap wine and an expensive one (though I wouldn't know, since I only buy the cheap, pretty ones). 

That being said, I thought this wine was good. Not the best I've had, but good. 

It did give me the opportunity to use the new drip stoppers I recently picked up as a replacement for these plastic ones (which are too big for the bottle's opening and eventually cracked from us trying to force them to work...disappointing). 

The new ones work well so far and definitely seem sturdier. We'll see how they hold up over time.

Wanna play along? I'd love to hear what you'll be imbibing this weekend...Cheers!